Week 6 in Guam

Time surely waits on no man. Six weeks have come and gone and so has the King of Pop, R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

I will be leaving Guam in 2 days and getting married in 30 days! It is certainly a bitter-sweet ending. It took me an hour to bid my farwells today at work and I was overwhelmed with the relationships and connections built in such a short time.

The last 3 weeks have been incredibly busy, as my assignment was moved from the chambers of Judge Sukola to Judge Ingles. Judge Ingles oversees the child support and truancy divisions and the work load is incredible. My first task involved writing another Decision and Order for a statute of limitations on the enforcement of back child support against non-custodial parents (namely fathers). The Decision and Order would stand to provide a ruling on not 1, but 6 other cases that were under advisement with the judge. As I poured through the case files for 7 different families I was torn between ensuring children and mothers were not forsaken, while also ensuring fathers were not overly penalized with jail time and multiple digit child support judgments.

In reviewing the facts in each case and researching the applicable law, I began to develop an unpopular stance, which is one advocating the rights of fathers. Surely I believe that a father should be held accountable for the provision of his children but I also believe the accountability needs to be equally enforced against mothers. The lack of education, unemployment status and years of welfare dependency that characterized many of the mothers greatly concerned me. It seems as though many states have child support laws that tolerate being a dead-beat mom, but not a dead-beat dad. I strongly believe the best interest of children is served when both a mother and father contribute to their well-being, not only physically and monetarily, but intellectually and responsibly. I truly think there needs to be more enforcement and efforts focused on educating and employing mothers so that they too are equally accountable for the needs of their children. It is then that I believe we will breed a different generation of responsible and accountable adults who will decrease the burden on tax-payers and our local governments, who are ultimately penalized in supporting these families…well so much for my legislative soap box.

The last few weeks I have eaten enough to be able to fast for a whole month. I honestly believe it’s almost impossible to go hungry in Guam. The month of July is one of the most celebrated months, since July 21 is Guam’s Independence Day, also known as Liberation Day. From July 21- Aug 8th there will be many festivals, parades, and a carnival to commemorate the timeframe that the US fought to reclaim Guam from the Japanese in 1944.

On July 4th I toured a few historical battle sites and a museum in honor of Liberation Day. The highlight of my trip was enjoying a bowl of fresh picked mangos by the owner of the Pacific War Museum. It almost felt like being at grandmas to have the owner share war stories under a shade tree.

Although the holiday has not yet arrived, the holiday spirit is already in full swing. I’ve already been to 2-3 different feasts, which included a big party at the Public Defender's Office and a Mango Festival. I've never eaten so many different types of mangos and mango dishes. As you drive down one of the coastal routes, you can spot families, sometimes in groups of 100+ feasting and enjoying a day on the beach.

One of the feasts I attended makes our style of Thanksgiving dinner look like appetizers. The spread contained a huge roasted hog, baked stuffed fish, dried pork, ribs, fried chicken, crabs, red rice, watermelon, an assortment of stuffed egg rolls, spicy spinach and tons of other local dishes and desserts. Kelaguen is one of the favorite local dishes which was prepared two ways, one with chicken and another with seafood that is finely ground meat, coconut, lemon, vinegar and an assortment of peppers and vegetables. There were well over 200 people in attendance, mainly family, who got together to cook in a huge out-door kitchen. I've noticed many of the homes are equipped with huge outdoor kitchens, which are somtimes larger than the homes themselves. The DJ and fully stocked open bar made for a full evening of Chamorro fun!

I’ve been invited to another gathering before I leave and would really like to make a stop by the Liberation Carnival. I will certainly remember my time spent here in Guam and I hope you’ve enjoyed following along my journey.

Week 3 in Guam

It’s the end of week 3 here in Guam and its hard to believe I’m already at the half-way mark in my externship. I’ve gotten great feedback on my decision and order and hopefully when Judge Unpingco is back from vacation on next week he’ll make a final ruling on the restitution matter.

Over the last week I’ve had a chance to learn about the role of the Public Guardian. The Public Guardian oversees incapacitated adults who have been abandoned or awarded to the state. I had the opportunity to audit what looks like the general ledger of each client’s estate. Although the role of the Public Guardian is not glamorous work for most attorneys I found it very interesting especially since I was able to heavily use my accounting skills to ensure each client’s estate will support their future needs. I probably scrutinized and questioned more than was necessary but it was rewarding to see my concerns acknowledged.

Over the last week I also had an opportunity to participate in an evidentiary hearing involving an “alienation of affection” claim. Alienation of affection is a matter usually involving divorcing spouses, where infidelity has occurred and the non-cheating spouse is suing the lover of the cheating spouse for damages. Guam is one of the very few jurisdictions that still recognize this old common law. However I’ve also come to learn you may not want to be a mistress in Mississippi, Illinois, North Carolina, South Dakota or Hawaii, who also recognizes these type claims.

Next week, I’ll be transitioning from Judge Unpingco’s chambers and moving into Judge Sukola’s chambers. I’ve heard some interesting stories about Judge Sukola –so far I’ve gotten the impression I’ll be working for Judge Judy ;o)

I’ve come to learn that Guam is much more westernized than I imagined. My nephew made me laugh really hard when he was amazed to learn that people actually drive cars in Guam. I too thought coming to Guam might be like going to Mars, but I’ve been mistaken. The teenagers here are big fans of T.I., Lil Kim and other main stream artists. I recently visited Micronesia Mall and the first department store I saw was MACYS! I also visited the tourist district of Tumon, which the locals call Japan’s playground. The streets were lined with brand names we all know very well, Hyatt Resort, Hooters, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Coach, Burberry, Chanel and more. I also had an interesting conversation with a marshal at the court house who knew all about Georgia’s peach pies, sweet tea, collard greens and fried catfish. I laughed so hard to hear the excitement in his voice as he spoke with a southern slang and Chamorro accent.

My encounter and shock with the big coconut crabs has been replaced by a recent earth quake and wild pigs. Two nights ago, about 1:00 am I nearly jumped out of my skin because I thought someone had broken into my hotel room and was shaking my bed. I soon realized the whole room was shaking and there were no intruders. The earthquake didn’t last long, but definitely has been my scariest experience so far.

My classmate Lee and I visited Talofofo Falls, which is described as an Island Jungle. I thought my greatest fear would be looking out for snakes, spiders and lizards, but towards the end of our hike we were greeted by a family of wild pigs! The baby pigs seemed very friendly and accustomed to seeing humans, but the grunt of the big papa pig in the trees, made me get out of dodge quick!

My weekend ended with a tour of Andersen Airforce base. Stacy, an assistant at the Public Defender’s Office and her husband Frank showed Lee and I a really good time. The highlight of my trip to the base was POPEYES chicken. There’s nothing like a 2 piece, red beans and rice and a biscuit! ;o)

I’m starting to miss home and have started counting down the days til I return. More pics about my experience are posted at the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22542&id=1498807038&l=10b0034c28

Week 1 in Guam

My first week in Guam has flown by. I have been assigned to work for two different judges, a male, Justice Unpingco and a female, Justice Sukola. I recently finished my first assignment in Judge Unpingcos Chambers, which involved writing a decision and order for a restitution hearing. Restitution is where a victim seeks compensation for losses incurred, when another commits a crime against him/her. My case involved a juvenile defendant who burglarized residential property. Amazingly I thought I would fight strongly for the victim, but ended up only recommending a portion of what he desired due to what the statutes and other case law allowed. I can’t wait to get feedback and it will be icing on the cake if the case is heard before I leave. If so perhaps I’ll get to see portions of my opinion published as part of the judge’s final ruling.

The primetime case that I have experienced thus far involves 10 different defendant cops, who will be represented by 9 different attorneys. The cops have been accused of unlawful beatings of up to 20 different victims. I suspect the case will have strong racial tension because all of the cops were from one village, while all of the victims were from another lower-class village. The case has so many parties and witnesses that most of the proceedings will have to occur in rental facilities outside of the Guam Judiciary. The Guam Judiciary does not have a facility large enough to hold the case. I thought the judge was joking when he said the jury selection process may occur in a tent outside of the court house to save trial costs. Apparently a pool of 500 jurors will be needed to select the 2 dozen jury members that will be needed.

On to FUN STUFF…on last Friday night a few of the other interns and I hung out at a local tavern. The tavern had a live band and to our surprise one of the band members was a current Superior Court Judge Perez. It was funny to see the judge on the bench in robe by day and rocking out on the guitar by night.

On my way back from the tavern I saw what looked like the biggest crab hiking across the road. I had one virgin drink at the tavern so I know I was pretty coherent. The next day I told a local what I saw and he mentioned it must have been a coconut crab. I got to see a coconut crab up close at the Chamorro Village. One of the locals had it as a pet. I understand you can eat coconut crabs and most times people eat them before they grow to their largest size. Chamorro Village, which is named after the local Chamarros, is open every Wednesday and is an outdoor market place with lots of local food and festivities.


On last Saturday, Catrina, Cindy and I hung out at a local beach resort. Catrina moved to Guam almost 10 months ago and is working for a local law firm. Catrina went to law school at UF, with an old high school classmate of mine and we connected by way of Facebook. Catrina has been the BEST TOUR GUIDE EVER! Cindy is a friend of Catrina’s who is here in Guam on assignment with the IRS. Cindy treated us to tons of perks at the Fiesta Beach Resort. We ate from one of the biggest buffets I’ve ever seen, watched a few local dancers and chatted like old girlfriends while we watched the sunset on the beach. The most interesting thing I ate was Asian Shaved Iced. Asian Shaved Ice is a dessert that has crushed ice, condensed milk, sweet paste and beans, some of which look like soft jelly beans but taste nothing like jell beans ;o). I fell asleep near the pool and was awakened by the excitement of another crab running across the deck. This one was not so big, but still I think I’m going to be on the look-out for “THE CRABS!”

Last Sunday, I hung out again with Catrina at Gun Beach. We met up with a few mutual friends of Catrina who are on duty in Guam with the US Airforce. It was so HOT I thought Satan just might show up with a lawn chair. I absolutely will not go to the beach before 4pm again. TOO MUCH heat even for a Floridian. Sunday night, I got a surprise visit from Lee, another law student from John Marshall. He is my next door neighbor and will be working at the Public Defender’s Office this summer.

Well it is after 9pm here in Guam on Wednesday evening. These days I can’t keep my eyes open past 10pm. Tomorrow is my Friday since I’ve arranged a schedule to work only Mon-Thurs. Tootles for now!

I've arrived in Guam

I have been in Guam for officially 24 hours. After a 23 hour flight and two lay-overs I was ornery as a yellow jacket when I arrived. My back hurt and I was nauseous from the Continental Airline Cuisines. I managed to get through customs and find my bags in less than 30 minutes. The airport was a ghost town, nothing like Hartsfield in Atlanta. As I approached the taxi and rental car lane, a young man approached me, "Are you Kimberly? I'm Carlos!" Carlos had been sent by the manager of my hotel to help with rental car arrangements. As Carlos and I exited the airport I felt like I stepped into a sauna. At 9pm at night with no sun, Guam was sweltering with heat.

After my rental car was secured, Red, the manager of my hotel escorted me to the hotel and took me to the local grocery store to pick up midnight goodies. By the time Red and I left the grocery store it was after 10 pm. Red equipped my room with a refrigerator, mircowave, loveseat and 30" TV, which I understand are not standard amenities. The warm hospitality shown by Carlos and Red was just the welcome I needed.

As expected, I spent most of the day sleeping. I did manage to get out and find the infamous K-Mart that externs from last summer raved about. On my route to K-Mart, I spotted a Denny's, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Tony Romas and Lone Star Steakhouse. I was suprised to see so many familar places to eat. My visit to K-mart was the highlight of my day. It is slightly larger than our Walmart Supercenters, equipped with a pharmacy, full appliance center, Little Caesar's Pizza and furniture department. I don't think there is anything that you can't get at the Super K-mart. Best of all it is open 24-hours. I've already made another shopping list for my next visit.

It's almost 11:00 pm on Sunday night, so I'm going to turn in for my first big day at work tomorrow. The Supreme Court is less than 2 miles from my hotel. I'm going to enjoy the short commute and break from Atlanta's traffic!

Preparations for Guam

On Friday, May 29th at 7:30 am, I will depart Atlanta for a 6-week law clerkship in Hagatna, Guam. I have received an opportunity to work in the Supreme Court of Guam through John Marshall Law School's Micronesia Externship Program. I am excited yet nervous about this experience. After a few clicks on Google Earth, I just realized I am traveling more than than 7000 miles across the globe. The first question most people have asked is where is Guam? My thoughts when I first spotted Guam on the map was "wow this place is literally in the middle of the pacific ocean!" More recently I've learned that Guam is approximately 1500 miles east of the Philipines and 3,800 miles southwest of Hawaii. Guam is also the largest and most southern island that makes up the Mariana Islands of Micronesia.

Guam is 14-hours ahead of our clocks here on the east coast. Although my total flight time is nearly 23 hours, it appears I will actually gain several hours during my lay overs in Houston, Texas and Tokyo, Japan. I will land in Guam on Saturday, May 30th at 8:30 pm, but it will be 6:30 am in Atlanta. A few hours ago, I spoke with the manager at the Plumeria Garden Suites, who has assured me a home away from home in Guam. Thus far I am amazed at the friendliness of the locals and what we would call southern hospitality. In a few hours I will be headed to the doctor for my second round of Hepatitis vaccines and I suppose I should start packing.

Send up many prayers for safe travel and an enriching experience. I will post again after I've arrived. Email will likely be the best means of communication.